In the last 8 meetings between the Nashville Predators and the Calgary Flames, including last night, 5 of the games have been decided by just a single goal. The other three games, not surprisingly, have been decided by a whopping 2 markers. To say that the Preds/Flames games are incredibly close would simply be pointing out the glaringly obvious.
The tradition obviously continued last night as the Flames were able to tough out a 1-0 victory and, in the process, help Miikka Kiprusoff earn his first shut-out of the season. The Flames, with Kiprusoff in net, had won all four meetings between the two teams last season, but had dropped this season's series opener 2-0. Last night's win was an important win for a multitude of reasons, but being able to finally win a close game where the opposition's goalie stands on his head might be the most important result from last-night's win since despite only being able to get a single shot past (not counting a Horak double-post) Rinne, the Flames were able to find a way to win.
The Flames lost two defensemen in the first before they were able to score their goal as Marc Giordano went down with an apparent leg injury and Butler was cut and needed stitches. The kids picked up the slack as the team was forced to play late in the first with just four blue-liners as T.J. Brodie and Derek Smith helped combine for the only goal of the hockey game as Brodie fed Smith with a slap-pass that Smith was able to convert for his first career NHL goal.
Although the Flames certainly generated some great opportunities, such as the aforementioned Horak shot, Pekka Rinne was equal to the task as he battled fellow countryman Mikka Kiprusoff save for save for the rest of the game. The Flames powerplay continues to be pathetic on home ice as they went 0/2 on the powerplay, continuing a home drought that's lasted over a month (Oct 26th) but they were able to stymy the Preds powerplay, including a late Blake Comeau penalty with just over 5 minutes left that could have been a back-breaker for the Flames, but an excellent penalty-kill, and a timely imploding of Colin Wilson's stick, helped the Flames hold the Preds at bay and help seal the victory.
The win closes the Flames November schedule with a record of 6-8. Last season they went 4-7-2 in November, which basically killed their season. 6-8 is certainly better than 4-7-2 on the surface, but when you consider the fact that it's 2 less points in one less game, there really isn't much to choose between the two.
Have the Flames once again killed their post-season hopes before the Christmas month?
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